Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 420 Ravenclaw's New Companion

Seeing that Astoria had returned to normal, Rice continued to analyze the pros and cons of the experiment for her.

"I suggest you think carefully before answering. Don't rush to agree. This experiment could be very dangerous," Rice said seriously. "Because even I can't predict what will happen after you drink my blood."

Without hesitation, Astoria immediately expressed her willingness to become Rice's experimental subject.

"You've never harmed us, so I trust you." Astoria's words plunged Rice into a brief silence.

"It's different. Once you drink my blood, there's no turning back. I can assure you that right now you only have a faint desire for blood, but once you actually drink it, you might find yourself unable to live without it." Rice hesitated, a rare occurrence for him. Astoria's trust made him feel constrained.

He even feels a little regretful now that Astoria isn't an enemy like Aries, so he wouldn't have any burden when conducting experiments.

"It's nothing. The Greengrass family is large and powerful; getting some blood to support me is no problem," Astoria said with pride. "Besides, you gave me this life, so every extra day I live is a bonus for me."

Seeing that Rice was still thinking, Astoria added, "You said that I only have a slight desire for blood now, but can you guarantee that this desire won't grow stronger in the future? Rather than being unable to resist drinking unclean blood in the future, you might as well start using yours from today."

"Okay." Rice didn't hesitate any longer and made a cut on his palm.

Blood flowed from the wound, but before it could hit the ground, it was manipulated by Rice to gather together, forming bright red beads like grapes.

Rice glued the beads together so that they really looked like a bunch of red grapes.

"I thought you'd let me come up to you and suck on you." Astoria made no attempt to hide the regret and longing in her eyes, while Rice just smiled and shook her head.

"Be decent, Astoria." He handed the blood grapes to Astoria.

Astoria picked up the "grapes" and put them into her mouth one by one. The "grapes" turned into a pool of juice as soon as they entered her mouth, and a strong smell of blood immediately filled the girl's mouth.

But Astoria felt nothing amiss; on the contrary, she felt as if she were eating an unparalleled delicacy. The surging magic within her blood soothed her hunger.

Astoria quickened her eating pace, but her movements remained elegant, without even a trace of blood on the corner of her mouth.

After eating the blood grapes, the girl's complexion regained its rosy hue.

Rice looked at her expectantly.

"Did you notice anything different?"

Astoria paused for a moment, then slowly shook her head. She hadn't noticed any particularly noticeable changes. If she had to pinpoint something, it was that she felt a warm, comforting sensation in her stomach, as if she had drunk some hot water.

"Wait!" The girl finally noticed the difference: she discovered that her control over her blood seemed to have improved.

"So your control over the domain has increased?"

Astoria nodded.

"This isn't bad at all." Rice was satisfied with the current situation. He knew that things might change later, but this wouldn't be an immediate effect.

"Alright, we should go out now, or your sister will start to worry." With that, Rice turned around and opened the tent door.

When Daphne saw the two of them come out of the tent, she was taken aback at first, and then her gaze was fixed on the ruby ​​necklace around her sister's neck.

"Astoria has also stepped into the threshold of the realm." Rice quietly told Daphne the good news.

"That's wonderful!" Daphne's face lit up with joy, clearly happy for her sister's progress.

"It's blood." Astoria briefly introduced her field, which surprised Daphne.

"So you got the inspiration from last night?"

"right."

"That's wonderful—breakfast is ready, would you like some?"

Although Astoria wasn't very hungry at the moment, she still took some garlic bread and ate it with grilled sausage.

The atmosphere in the camp was cheerful and harmonious. Voldemort, who had suddenly returned last night, seemed to be non-existent and did not bring much pressure to everyone.

After all, he was brutally beaten by the mysterious visitor as soon as he appeared and had to flee in panic. As a result, much of the prestige he had accumulated had dissipated.

Take his Death Eater followers as an example. On the night of the incident, they gathered together to discuss future strategies. Not one of them suggested actively seeking out their master. Everyone could see that their master's resurgence was already a sign of his decline, and no one wanted to take the huge risk of choosing sides.

While everyone enjoyed a hearty breakfast, Rice sat down next to Aries—they had always explained to others that Aries was a new friend, so on the surface she was treated the same as everyone else, and breakfast was served to her as usual.

Upon seeing Rice approach, Aries immediately put down his plate and furtively glanced at the young wizard with uneasy eyes.

She knew that the boy in front of her was the leader of that group of young wizards. The two silver-haired witches obeyed him without question, and the curly-haired little witch could even summon his phantom directly from her domain, so she was obviously one of his people.

His fate was largely in his own hands.

"I have a lot of information about the Secret Order..." Aries whispered.

Rice waved her hand. Most of the information she had was of little value, but listening to it wouldn't be a waste of time.

"Do you know the location of the headquarters of the Secret Order?"

Aries was taken aback, then shook his head. The location of the Secret Order's headquarters was extremely mysterious; even cultivators at their level didn't know it. Polaris always held meetings using key-based access, so they had no idea where the meetings were held.

"Then I have nothing more to ask. Let's eat first." Rice gestured to Aries not to be so nervous and to fill their stomachs first.

After Aries finished all the food on his plate, Rice explained how he dealt with Aries.

"I'm going to put you in the care of one of my friends, hoping you can be reborn there."

The friend Rice mentioned was naturally Rowena from the dungeon. He would entrust Aries to Rowena, letting her take care of her, or rather, use her.

It depends on what Rowena thinks. At least it can help her pass the time and keep her from getting too bored.

This was also Rice's punishment for Aries. Someone who had severely injured Astoria could not possibly hand her over to Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic.

Aries, unaware of the intricacies of the situation, nodded happily, already sensing the approaching freedom.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The second update is here!

(End of this chapter)